TIMA Nationals 2010 Vol.4

TIMA Nationals 2010 Vol.4

Thursday, July 1, 2010. It’s a little after 10:00pm our time and I’m in the clubhouse (where we have to go to get internet access) taking care of a bit of business before heading back to the room for a movie. Today was awesome in so many ways. Let’s get the simple stuff out of the way. Our remaining 8 fighters had weigh in. All made it without issue, though Austin came within .10lbs of being too heavy.

Our fighters for the day, Marisa and Jake, were on adjacent rings fighting one after the other. It was very convenient as moving in the bleachers here is a pain. The team was sooooo up for Marisa’s first fight. As this would be her first fight in competition ever. If you read her blog interview, as you should have, you know she didn’t have an opponent at states so this would be her first. Her division was 4 tough, skilled fighters, each a bit bigger than Marisa. Marisa wasted little time in her first match. Less than 5 seconds into the match she landed a headshot for 3 points. Within 10 seconds the score was 6-0 as she landed a second head shot. Marisa lead the fight throughout at one point by a score of 12-1. The final score was 13-9. Marisa had won her first ever competition fight and advanced to a spot that guaranteed her a medal. Her second fight didn’t go as we would have hoped, but she battled the entire way. Marisa earned a silver medal at her first ever competition, the biggest stage there is for a fighter her age and rank.

Jakes fight was something out of a horror movie. Since Jake is in the heavyweight division there’s no upward weight limit. His opponent, as pictured above was literally man-sized. He had at least 12 inches on Jake and probably 75-85lbs. It was unreal. Shortly after the fight began Jake was kicked in the face with a vicious roundhouse. It spun him around pretty good. It was such a hard kick the referee asked Jake if he wanted him to DQ (disqualify) his opponent. Jake said he wanted to continue the fight. It was pretty close for awhile. In fact, Jake knocked him down twice during the fight with kicks. Jake stalked this guy all over the ring. It was amazing. In the end he came up a little short and his run at Nationals came to a close. That being said, we will talk about this fight within TIMA for as long as we compete. Jakes, courage, guts, attitude and bravery were a joy to watch and something none of us will ever forget.

Tonight will be an early night as we have 8 fighters going off tomorrow. Keep us in your prayers and stay tuned for updates.

From Orlando, For the Team,
Coach Woodward